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Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Fourth Season

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Fourth Season

List Price: $59.98
Your Price: $44.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great but not the best
Review: What can we say about the 4th season of Buffy? For starters-not a complete miss. Although this is the worst (or shall we say least good?) season of Buffy (tied with season 6) it is still very good. There are some classic episodes contained in this DVD set-Hush of course, Fear Itself, Pangs, Something Blue, Doomed with some unforgettable quotes from Spike, and Where The Wild Things Are. And yet still there are some episodes that fall completely short of Buffy fans expectations-The Freshman arguably the worst season premier of all 7 seasons, Beer Bad-I think it's the frat guys (this episode is saved only by Xander and his usual hilarious antics), The I In Team and Goodbye Iowa which was sort of a 2 part episode that I found very boring despite the introduction of Adam. As I said before-this is the least good of Buffy's seasons and yet still great. I'm very excited about this set coming out (I'm counting the days!) but what I'm looking forward to even more is the Season 5 set (gonna have to wait till next winter for that one, curses!). So on June 10th I hope all you Buffy fans out here will pick up your very own copy of Season 4 Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I walk. I talk. I sneeze.
Review: Season 4 is often disparaged by Buffy fans and I was no exception to this when it first aired. But this is largely due to the fact that S4 had some big initial handicaps to overcome. No Cordelia, No Angel, and very quickly, No Oz. Speaking as someone who hates change in any form, losing three of my favorite characters in one season only to see them be quickly replaced was enough to make me hate S4 with a passion regardless of the quality of the episodes. But later, re-watching it after I had gotten used to Riley, Anya, and Tara, I had to admit that S4 was up to the high heights of Buffydom.

The characters of Riley, Anya, Tara were all brilliant additions to the cast (I don't care what anybody says about Riley, he was cool in his own dorky, sturdy way. Giving Buffy a "normal" boyfriend and a chance for some relatively angst-free happiness, which she ultimately rejects, was a stroke of genius.)

Each year of Buffy has an over-arching theme and this year it was Rebirth. Giles and Xander attempt to re-establish themselves in the real world while Buffy and Willow slowly fall in love again. Faith returns and literally tries to re-do her life over, as Buffy. (And provides the season with two of its best episodes) But the year ends with the Scooby gang realizing that despite all their attempts to start over on their own, they still need each other in a basic, primal way.

Their magically assisted reunion leads the gang and the viewer to the final episode, Restless. Buying the DVDs would be worth the price alone just for this episode. All character, no plot. All cryptic, no didactic. Has any other movie or television show ever presented dreams in such a realistic way? The way events lead into each other with absolute logic and yet with no logic at all. The way things are given one name even though you know they actually have another. The way minutiae and important life problems get tangled together. This show is the only one in the history of television to give us characters that are realized enough to have completely realized dreams. The clues which it offered about future episodes are only part its appeal, what's most interesting is what it says about Xander, Willow, Giles, and the Slayer's troubled psyches. The image of Buffy walking out into a vast ancient desert to confront the "source" of her power remained with me for a long time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy at the weakest is still #1
Review: Season 4 is arguably the worst season ever. However, Buffy at her least favorable is still amazing in retrospect. As a huge (and much depressed Buffy fan, as it is ending rapidly) I wasn't hooked on the show until this season. I had always watched Buffy since about season two, but season 4 really got the obsession started. Since then I have come to be the biggest Buffy fan and now recognize the weakness season 4, had opposed to more superior seasons like 2 and 6 (in my opinon the best seasons ever.) The fourth season is still a tremendous thing to behold. Some of the most classic Buffy episodes ever came from this season, such as Hush, Restless, and (a personal favorite) Something Blue. Season four was a transition period not just for the characters (going from high school to college) but for the viewers as well. The loss of Angel and Cordelia was a big blow and the show had to compensate for that. Truly some of the best story arcs for this season were the cross overs between Angel and Buffy. However, with the loss of such truly rich characters as Angel and Cordelia the element had to change on the show. The introduction of Riley was needed. Although I thought the realtionship between Buffy and Riley was not nearly as sexy as her relationship with Angel (at its worst it was kind of boring.) Buffy could not have gone on another emotional roller coaster right away. She needed a period of rest and a form of stability. True stable life for Buffy still has some kicks. And kicks this show had. Some amazing fight scenes were in this season, the Buffster and Adam duking it out, Buffy and Faith reversed, and of course the bone chilling Gentlemen from Hush. When it's all said and done with this season was still top notch even if it wasn't at the top of its game. After all this season did give us back Spike, Faith, Harmony and brought us a new charcter to love... Tara.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy-Season 4
Review: I personally like Season four more than any other
season. Don't get me wrong, I love Angel, but
there was something about Riley that I loved more.
Maybe it was the fact that he and Buffy could
actually be together. He could walk with her on
the beach, she could see him anytime she wanted.
I still love Angel but their relationship was
doomed from the start. My favorite episodes in
Season 4 are:

1. Something Blue-Spike and Buffy together was
hilarious.

2. Hush-One of the best, if the not the best,
episodes of Buffy ever.

3. Pangs-More Spike, need I say more?

4. The Freshman-Buffy meets Riley for the first
time and she hits him on the head with books.

5. This Year's Girl- Faith-one of the best Buffy
characters ever.

6. Who Are You- More Faith

7. Where the Wild Things Are-Buffy and Riley
scenes

8. The Yoko Factor- Riley and Angel meeting for
the first time

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Season
Review: Season 4 Buffy has the dubious title of being fan's least favorite (season 6 is a contender now, but that's another debate). The main characters move on and dynamics change. Some progressions include:

Government/Initiative - It makes sense that the government would be involved somehow in the "demon world". Their hubris and failure only demonstrate how underestimated and crucial our protagonists are.

Giles/Maggie Walsh- For the first time, Giles is threatened by the supernaturally inclined maternal figure in Buffy's life. Since being fired by the council, Giles is facing mid-life crisis and ultimately this leads him to question the role he plays. As for Maggie, her secret project will be the catalyst of her demise.

Xander/Anya - Xander, the everyman, did not go to college but enters the workforce instead. He represents the ordinary in all of us, yet he has proven to be indispensable every season. Ex-demon Anya, the voice of our id, continues her mortal journey this season providing many comedic and endearing moments with Xander.

Willow/Tara/Oz - This is the year Willow experiments with more magic and sexuality. Oz leaves and Tara is introduced. Willow's sense of self will further be explored in the relationship with Tara and in the continuing growth of her magical powers.

Buffy/Riley - Riley is the guy you can take home to mother but apparently does not make compelling television. Poor Riley, he does everything right and yet the audience still prefer Buffy's vampiric counterparts. At least this answers the question, "What would it be like if Buffy went out with a normal guy?" (Initiative involvement not withstanding) Buffy's authority figures are minimized this year. Her journey will fragment her relationship with the Scoobs (often true when one enters college). Thankfully, they will be reunited by the end of the season.

Spike - This is the year Spike gets chipped by the Initiative. He reluctantly becomes a semi-Scooby member, wears Hawaiian shirts and provides sardonic dialogue (vacated by Cordelia). He will become one of the most beloved and complex characters today.

Notable episodes include: Fear Itself (loved the last 5 minutes), Something Blue (Willow's spell gone awry, hilarity ensues), Hush (the vastly silent episode, brilliant!), A New Man (Giles as a demon), This years Girl/Who are you (Faith/Buffy switcharoo) and Restless (best dream sequence I've ever seen and foreshadowing of what's to come). All in all, season 4 has a few misses but it's thematically satisfying and most of all, transitionally necessary. At second gander, many outstanding hours of television came from this season. It really says something when Buffy's debatable weak season is still pretty darn good.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The US are finally being to please their citizens!
Review: I'm a big fan of Buffy, I started watching it around season 4 and now I love it, living in the UK I'm pretty lucky because they release the VCR box sets in two parts, the 1st half after the 1st half of the season has aired on Sky One and the 2nd half when the complete season has aired on the same channel, they also release the entire DVD box sets about a year after the season has been released on VCR. So I was shocked to come onto this site one year ago finding that the season one box set hadn't even been released on DVD or VCR! But now luckily the creators have finally realized that Buffy fans are pining for the complete season box sets over in the states too! Season 4 didn't really do too well due to the fact there was so much change. Sunnydale High was gone along with Angel and Cordy, Buffy began to mature in many different ways and a whole new line of characters were introduced. Personally I thought season 4 was very well done and even though lots of people don't agree with me I still think it's one of the best seasons available!...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This DVD is unbelievable and is better than season 3!
Review: OK, here is the deal. Every episode in this season is awesome.
I guess that's because i am an extremely big buffy fan.
Here are the 5 best episodes from S4 (In Order).

1.Restless(one of the best episodes ever)
2.Primeval(action packed with action)
3.The Yoko Factor(Very Dark in my perspective)
4.The Harsh Light of Day(Very Funny and a hint of evil)
5.The Freshman(A Very well waited season premiere.
Hush is very good too but not in MY top 5.

This season basically is about Buffy dealing with the loss of angel and fearing the horrors of college (thanks to Sunnydale High). We find out Willow is gay and Buffy finds a new man in her life..., Riley. Later in the season they both find out their true identities in "Doomed". Riley an intiative, and buffy the slayer have to deal with eachother being powerful but buffy overall. Maggie Walsh, the leader of the initiative, lets buffy into their conspiracy but later tries to kill her in an episode called "The I in Team." This reason is that buffy was discovering too much and almost found out about 314. Maggie Walsh is killed by Adam(known as 314) who escapes. Adam gets Spike to split the gang up so he can take on her by himself but they all come together in "primeval" and take on Adam. The explosive pre-season finale ends with a touch of an extra(not done in any other season)episode to fill in the 22nd spot. "Restless", an episode where Buffy,Willow,Xander and Giles dream very weird and extroirdinary(might be spelled wrong) things.While this happens everyone is being hunted by the first slayer who was awoken in "Primeval", while being visited by the cheese man. So that wraps it up basically and that comment on Season 7, your wrong. Season 7 is a very good season and it will end with a tremendous series finale(all in my opinion).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Though not my favorite, an EXCELLENT season nonetheless
Review: This season is quite excellent--and vastly underrated. Though not my favorite (it probably is my 4th favorite, behind seasons 5, 3, and 7), but it still contains some knockout moments, and huge contributions to the slayer mythos.

Let me also begin by saying that the character of Riley is also very underrated and misunderstood. He was Buffy's first attempt at a "normal" boyfriend after Angel -- and like many of the things she attempts to do to make her life "ordinary," it backfires. Also, Riley/Marc Blucas is quite the stud (I think he's sexier than Angel), and he introduces the entire Initative arc of the storyline, which I think is quite inspired and exciting. If anything, the introduction of the government & military into the story showed that, aside from the Scoobies and the Council, there are more groups out there battling the forces of darkness (though the Initative's end goal was clearly misguided).

Season four also introduces Tara, and the First Slayer--both important characters to the future of the series. It is in this season that we begin to explore the roots and the origin of the slayer power: an exploration that continues throughout the seasons, and appears to be climaxing in this current one (season 7).

Favorite eps: Hush (of course), Faith 2-parter This Year's Girl and Who are You?, 2-parter Yoko Factor and Primeval, Restless (which introduces the First Slayer and foreshadows things yet to come on future seasons), and Where the Wild Things Are (an otherwise lame episode, except for the fact that Marc Blucus spends nearly the entire episode without any clothes on--gotta love that!)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Buffy's biggest clunker season
Review: I never watched Buffy until on a whim, I picked up the first season on DVD. I was hooked. I watched the entire set in one day and ran out and bought season 2. I had to wait for season three to be released and in the meantime I started watching reruns on the FX channel.

Season 4 is incredibly weak compared to the rest. Why?

1. Willow being gay? huh? This plot twist really helps out none. She was a perfect character when she was torn between Xander and Oz and was starting to come into herself as a woman. I'm not against gay characters at all, but Tara is not very interesting and it seemed that the entire character of Willow was changed by this mistake.

2. Departure of Oz, Cordelia and Angel. It was like losing three of my frineds. Just when Cordelia's character was starting to show some depth. Angel and Oz were always great characters.

2.5. The loss of Faith. Man I was rooting for her to be redeemed, but her appearances don't do it. I know they had to get rid of her because she kept blowing everyone off the screen that she did a scene with, but I really missed her this season.

3. The Initiative was just far too boring (it felt like old six million dollar man episodes with them).

4. Buffy's new love interest, Riley, was too boring.

5. We've lost the high school thing that was so fun.

6. They needed to start letting the other characters respect Xander for his character and loyalty, despite being the only one with no super powers. They started playing him for too much comic relief.

7. I never have like the Xander/Onya romance. Though, I like each individual character well enough.

Nevertheless, a weak season of Buffy is probably better than a strong season of 99% of the series that are out there and the show did hold my attention, and most of the individual epidsodes work, the characters just didn't seem like my buddies anymore.

Season 5 is a good rebound in my opinion (Michele Trachtenberg lights up the screen everytime she is on it, even if they make her character too whiny).

Season 6 & 7 also seem to get even more back in form.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: How could anyone not love this show??
Review: I've been watching Buffy since the beginning and think it has been the most consistently amazing show TV has ever produced. I can't say that season four is the best, but I couldn't say that about any of the seasons. There are certain things that I like and dislike about each season and could never discern which is the best and worst. Instead, I'll just give you my top 10 list of favorite episodes:
10. Lie To Me (season 2)
9. Conversations With Dead People (season 7)
8. Wrecked (season 6)
7. Normal Again (season 6)
6. The Gift (season 5)
5. The Wish (season 3)
4. Selfless (season 7)
3. Becoming 1 & 2 (season 2)
2. Graduation Day 1 & 2 (season 3)
1. Doppelgangland (seasone 3)

As you can see, there's none from season 4. This doesn't mean that it's a bad season, just not quite as memorable than the others.


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